5 Facts About My First Day

No matter what your age or what your job, your first day will always be daunting. It’s inevitable you’ll get lost, do something embarrassing, or get stuck. So if you’re anything like me, you will spend the morning googling different ways to make friends and first day tips.

I have shared 5 facts about my first day to hopefully put others minds at ease, but mostly to remind people that it’s okay to mess up on your first day!

I Tried on 5 Different Outfits

Knowing what to wear may feel minor, but your clothes send out an immediate, loud message about what kind of person you are and how much effort you are willing to put in.

What I did: I used my interview stage as an opportunity to see what my interviewers were wearing and get a feel of the general office vibe. After being offered the job, I sent an email asking about any rules or dress codes to avoid wearing something not allowed.

Why I did it: It is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. However, you don’t want to turn up in a full business suit on a ‘dress down day’. Emailing to find out things like this will not only put your mind at ease about wearing the wrong thing, but it also shows the company that you are genuinely interested and eager to start.

I Arrived Awfully Early

As a young person fresh out of college, I didn’t have a great amount of money so driving wasn’t an option. Being limited to public transport meant I couldn’t ‘test drive’ my journey.

What I did: I made sure I knew exactly what buses I needed to get and what route they were going to take before I left. I also planned to get here at least 30 minutes early so if I got lost, I had some spare time to fix my mistakes.

Why I did it: One hop on the wrong bus could have left me miles away with a very expensive ticket which is why it was important to double check all the times. Luckily for me, it was an easy journey so I used the spare 30 minutes as down time to re-read my employee handbook and google even more last minute tips!

Make Friends

This could be the day you meet your life long BFF – time to make friends!

What I did: Introducing myself to all my new co-workers with a friendly handshake not only helped me to get to know everyone, but also gave me a few friendly faces to ask questions if I found myself stuck on something. I also made an effort to get to know people personally in my lunch break.

Why I did it: Speaking to people about their job role helped me to get to know their expertise so I could understand how they would contribute towards my job and training. We also spoke about personal things such as hobbies and family.

Be Open Minded

All companies will have different ways of doing things so although your new ideas are valued, don’t try and take over the office with tales from your previous job. Similarly, if this is a whole new environment for you, don’t panic. It won’t take long at all to pick things up.

What I did: I had never been in an office before so everything was very new. Thankfully, my team understood this and helped me through each aspect of my job step-by-step. Most importantly, I took my time and asked lots of questions.

Why I did it: For me personally, I was new to an office environment so I didn’t have much to say about how things are run. However, there may be many reasons that things are done in such a way so it would always be better to learn that way first, and then make suggestions about other ways further down the line.

Don’t Leave Bang on Leaving O’clock

For the first couple of weeks, you really want to make a good impression to not only your managers, but co-workers as well. Everyone knows that arriving early for your shift gives off the impression of a keen, hard worker, but you need to remember that it works the same with leaving the office too.

What I did: I watched the rest of the office to see when they left. Even to this day, as a rule of thumb, it is always better to finish off your day once you have finished your job, not when the clock hits five’o’clock.

Why I did it: This shows that I am committed to the work I do and I am able to give a little extra to make sure my work gets done and our clients are happy.

On reflection

Everyone will laugh about first day nerves and it doesn’t take as long to settle in as you think. I now consider my scary new colleagues as my lovely friends and wonderful agony aunts! I am thankful that All Thing Web® was so welcoming and most other places will be too. The great thing about being an apprentice is the amount of support I have access to not only in the company, but out as well.

If you have any questions about getting an apprentice or the job roles of our dedicated team, please pop in for a coffee and a chat or give us a call on 01793 766 040.